Table 1.
Distribution of treatment with surgery or radiation versus observation by patient and regional characteristics. p<0.001 for all bivariate comparisons.
| Characteristics | N | Surgery (number treated per 1,000 diagnosed) | Radiation (number treated per 1,000 diagnosed) | Observation (number managed per 1,000 diagnosed) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | ||||
| 66-69 | 16,218 | 365 | 450 | 185 |
| 70-74 | 18,361 | 193 | 578 | 228 |
| 75-79 | 13,811 | 52 | 572 | 375 |
| 80-84 | 7,404 | 09 | 362 | 629 |
| 85+ | 3,249 | 04 | 134 | 862 |
| Race/ethnicity | ||||
| White | 48,318 | 182 | 494 | 324 |
| Black | 6,245 | 114 | 469 | 417 |
| Hispanic | 1,204 | 153 | 453 | 395 |
| Asian | 1,688 | 126 | 508 | 366 |
| Other/unknown | 1,588 | 238 | 470 | 292 |
| Clinical Stage | ||||
| T1 | 30,462 | 170 | 507 | 323 |
| T2 | 27,036 | 180 | 468 | 352 |
| T3 | 1,309 | 152 | 580 | 268 |
| T4 | 236 | 59 | 386 | 555 |
| D'Amico prostate cancer risk# | ||||
| Low | 12,767 | 149 | 562 | 289 |
| Intermediate | 14,202 | 244 | 519 | 237 |
| High | 12,513 | 157 | 526 | 317 |
| Grade | ||||
| Well or moderately differentiated | 29,987 | 141 | 497 | 362 |
| Poorly or undifferentiated | 29,056 | 208 | 483 | 309 |
| Comorbidity | ||||
| 0 | 38,635 | 202 | 485 | 313 |
| 1 | 13,039 | 144 | 519 | 337 |
| 2 | 4,386 | 94 | 486 | 421 |
| 3+ | 2,983 | 55 | 442 | 504 |
| Lived in Census Tract in which 25% or more of adults had a college education | ||||
| No | 31,047 | 156 | 478 | 366 |
| Yes | 27,996 | 194 | 503 | 302 |
| Median annual household income in Census Tract | ||||
| Low (≤ $39,926) | 19,651 | 148 | 462 | 391 |
| Intermediate | 19,697 | 178 | 489 | 333 |
| High (≥ $58,412) | 19,695 | 196 | 520 | 284 |
| Residing in urban area | ||||
| No | 4,834 | 165 | 444 | 391 |
| Yes | 54,209 | 175 | 494 | 331 |
| Number of urologists per 100,000 men 65 and over | ||||
| Low (≤ 55) | 19,704 | 158 | 495 | 347 |
| Intermediate | 21,663 | 207 | 455 | 338 |
| High (≥88) | 17,676 | 151 | 528 | 321 |
| Number of radiation oncologists per 100,000 men 65 and over | ||||
| Low (≤ 23) | 20,327 | 159 | 499 | 342 |
| Intermediate | 22,061 | 197 | 464 | 339 |
| High (≥ 38) | 16,655 | 162 | 513 | 325 |
| Number of hospital beds per 100,000 men 65 and over | ||||
| Low(≤ 4,797) | 20,077 | 181 | 494 | 326 |
| Intermediate | 22,811 | 164 | 491 | 345 |
| High (≥ 6,861) | 16,155 | 180 | 485 | 335 |
| Medicare managed care penetration | ||||
| Low (≤ 5.2%) | 20,083 | 156 | 487 | 357 |
| Intermediate | 19,072 | 149 | 543 | 308 |
| High (≥ 19.4%) | 19,888 | 216 | 443 | 342 |
| Average market-level yearly prostatectomy volume per provider | ||||
| Low (< 2.8 prostatectomies per year) | 20,047 | 127 | 530 | 343 |
| Intermediate | 19,578 | 169 | 498 | 333 |
| High (≥ 5.1 prostatectomies per year) | 19,418 | 228 | 440 | 332 |
| Average market-level yearly radiotherapy volume per provider | ||||
| Low (≤ 12.6 patients treated per year) | 19,762 | 211 | 427 | 362 |
| Intermediate | 19,444 | 163 | 502 | 335 |
| High (> 20.4 patients treated per year) | 19,837 | 149 | 541 | 311 |
| Surgical technology | ||||
| Low (0 providers per 100,000 in 2007) | 10,704 | 166 | 486 | 348 |
| Intermediate | 29,685 | 166 | 493 | 341 |
| High (9.6 providers per 100,000 in 2007) | 18,654 | 192 | 487 | 321 |
| IMRT technology | ||||
| Low (9.2 providers per 100,000 in 2007) | 16,556 | 190 | 480 | 330 |
| Intermediate | 28,107 | 167 | 495 | 338 |
| High (18.9 providers per 100,000 in 2007) | 14,380 | 170 | 492 | 338 |
#
prostate cancer risk according to D'Amico et al.20 Because G eason grade and PSA were not available in SEER-Medicare until 2004, only patients diagnosed in 2004 and later are included.